Sermon Notes for March 21, 2004

“Understanding the Passion of the Christ

in the New Testament”

Selected Scriptures

Introduction

The WORLD’S View Of Jesus.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer – medical missionary and author of Quest For The Historical Jesus

“He was a deluded fanatic who futilely threw away his life in blind devotion to a mad dream. There is nothing more negative than the critical study of the life of Christ.”

George Bernard Shaw

“A man who was sane until Peter hailed him as the Christ and who then became a mono-maniac . . . his delusion is a very common delusion among the insane . . . quite consistent with the [cunning] which Jesus displayed in Jerusalem after his delusion had taken complete control of him.”

There seems to be so much confusion as to who Jesus really was and why He died on the cross.
“The movie is a bloodbath”
“The movie is too brutal for words”
“After all, wasn’t Jesus merely an example for us in serving others?”

The WORD’S View Of Jesus.
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was:
NOT an example
NOT an execution
BUT AN EMANCIPATION!
Just who is Jesus?
ULTIMATELY THE ENTIRE BIBLE IS ABOUT JESUS!

1. He is the solution to man’s sin

2. and throughout the Old and New Testaments, WE SEE JESUS.

most of what is written in the Old and New Testaments is about Jesus substitutionary death on the cross.

1. how can a person miss His ULTIMATE MISSION on this
earth?

a. the Old Testament made it clear

b. the New Testament made it clear as we shall see today

2. Dr. Harry Thiessen – Lectures in Systematic Theology

“The death of Christ has a prominent place in the New
Testament. The last three days of our Lord’s earthly life
occupy about one-fifth of the narratives in the four Gospels. If
all the three and a half years of His public ministry had been
written out as fully as the last three days, we would have a ‘Life
of Christ’ of some 8400 pages! . . . Torrey claims that the death
of Christ is mentioned directly in the New Testament more than
175 times. Since there are 7,959 verses in the New
Testament, this would mean that one out of every 53 verses
refers to this theme.”

3. Dr. John Piper – “The passion of Jesus Christ is the most
important event in history, and the most explosive political
and personal issue of the twenty-first century. The denial that
Christ was crucified is like the denial of the Holocaust. For
some it’s simply too horrific to affirm. For others it’s an
elaborate conspiracy to coerce religious sympathy. But the
deniers live in a historical dreamworld. Jesus Christ suffered
unspeakably and died. So did Jews.

I. The PAST Of Jesus In The Old Testament.

The PROBLEM OF MAN.
The requirement of God.
we MUST go back to the Garden of Eden if we are ever going to understand the need for the cross of Jesus
for God required of man obedience –

1. God CLEARLY told Adam and Eve – Genesis 2:17 – “But you
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when you eat of it you will surely die."

2. the requirement was clear and the punishment was clear

As you all know and experience every day, our first parents failed in God’s requirement.
as a result they were sent out of the Garden
out of the Garden of light into a world of:

1. darkness

2. sin

3. death

The PLAN OF GOD.
The sense of God as seen in Genesis.
God’s grace is seen IMMEDIATELY in Genesis! God speaks to Adam and Eve about THE SOLUTION to man’s sin.
ALREADY, we see the grace and mercy of God
The grace of God as seen in the cross.
in Genesis 3:15 we see that solution – “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
HERE GOD PROPHECIES OF THE DEATH OF JESUS ON THE CROSS!

1. on that cross, there would be a substitute

2. on that cross, another would shed His blood

The PICTURES OF JESUS.
This cross, however, would not occur for several thousand more years
and until that time, God would illustrate the:
need for the shedding of blood to make that atonement
by using the sacrificial system to make that point over and over

1. the Passover

2. the Tabernacle

EACH and EVERY time there was a sacrifice, it would speak of the coming need and death of Jesus on the cross

The PROPHECIES OF JESUS.
To further substantiate the fact that Jesus would be the Messiah, some 40 prophecies were given throughout the Old Testament.
where He would be born
where He would grow up as a child
how and why He would die
All of this CLEARLY proved that Jesus was and is the Messiah.
the one who was to come
the one who was to die

II. The PROOF Of Jesus In The New Testament.

The Proof Of Jesus As Seen IN HIS BIRTH.
Jesus was in the DIRECT LINE OF DAVID.
in the book of Matthew - Joseph

1. the genealogy of Jesus is taken back through Joseph’s family
tree

2. there are some 41 names given that show that Joseph
descended directly from King David from whom the Messiah
would come

in the book of Luke - Mary

1. but it was not enough that Joseph’s family tree would go back
to King David . . .

2. so DID MARY’S

a. Mary’s family tree also went back to King David

b. this time, some 71 names will be traced from King
David to Mary

BOTH Joseph and Mary came directly from the Messianic lineage of King David!

Jesus was BORN OF A VIRGIN.
this was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
a sinless sacrifice was required to be the sacrifice of mankind

1. if Jesus were a sinner like you and me, then His death would
have been only an example to us –

a. His death would have had no more impact than the
sacrificial death of Gandhi or Abraham Lincoln

b. every human example, except Jesus, was a sinner!

2. a male, unblemished lamb was to be sacrificed

a. if Jesus had been conceived by human parents, then their
sins would have been transmitted to Him as well

b. that is why it was so critical that Joseph not be the
biological father, but that Mary was conceived by God
Himself

c. this would allow Jesus to be the sinless sacrifice for us
on the cross

Jesus was BORN IN BETHLEHEM.
Jesus’ birth was prophesied in Micah 5:2 - "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
this was required by God

1. in order to fulfill this prophecy, the true Messiah would have to
be born in Bethlehem

2. as we look initially at Mary and Joseph, there was a problem:

a. while Mary was pregnant

b. she and Joseph were living in Nazareth, some 80 miles
north of Bethlehem

c. how would Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem,
especially since she is 8-9 months pregnant?

3. God “solved” that problem

a. Caesar Augustus “decided” to have a census

1. perhaps to see how many people he ruled

2. perhaps to tax the people more for Rome

b. Caesar “thought” that his decision was merely his

1. but what Caesar Augustus didn’t know was that
it WASN’T his decision at all.

a. Proverbs 21:1 – “The king's heart is in
the hand of the LORD; he directs it
like a watercourse wherever he
pleases.”

b. Swindoll – “Without realizing it,
mighty Augustus was only an errand
boy for the fulfillment of Micah’s
prediction, a pawn in the hand of
Jehovah, a piece of lint on the pages of
prophecy.”

c. H.A. Ironside – “You will see that God
had set the whole world in motion,
millions of people were going to their
own city to be enrolled for the taxation in
order that God’s prophecy in the Old
Testament might be fulfilled on time, and
that Christ might be born in Bethlehem,
in Judea.”

2. the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus
was born in Bethlehem.

Jesus was PRESENTED TO SHEPHERDS.
the announcement of the birth of Jesus was made to shepherds – “the lowest in the social food chain”

1. reason one – the gospel would soon be offered to all men

a. shepherds were the “lowest of the low,” merely a notch
above slaves

b. shepherds would be the last ones to think that they
would hear from God

2. reason two – these shepherds oversaw the sacrificial lambs
used in the Temple worship

a. Jesus would be a “lamb led to slaughter”

b. Jesus would begin to prepare to die AT HIS BIRTH!

3. reason three – Jesus Himself would be a shepherd to His own
sheep

once again, God spoke to the least

WISE MEN APPEARED BEFORE THE CHRIST CHILD.
Wise Men came from the East to worship the Christ child

1. as astronomers and astrologers, they followed a star to the home
of the new-born King

2. they knew that something very important was happening

the Wise Men brought three gifts:

1. gold for a king

2. frankincense for worship

3. myrrh for His burial

He was PRAISED BY GOD’S PEOPLE.
after His birth, Mary and Joseph took the child to the Temple to be dedicated

1. upon arriving at the Temple, they encountered a man by the
name of Simeon

2. Simeon had been told by God that he would not die until he had
physically seen the Messiah – Luke 2:28-32 - Simeon took him
in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you
have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my
eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the
sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for
glory to your people Israel."

Jesus was the anointed one who had come to save His people from their sins

The Proof Of Jesus As Seen IN HIS MINISTRY.
Jesus would BE BAPTIZED BY JOHN.
John the Baptist would announce to the world about the coming of Jesus as the Messiah

1. In John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him
and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of
the world!”

2. why would John call Jesus THE Lamb and not a lamb?

a. a lamb would “continue to die”

b. THE Lamb would come to die ONCE

the baptism of Jesus by John would inaugurate the ministry of Christ on earth and ultimately to the cross.

Jesus would BE TEMPTED BY SATAN.
Satan knew why Jesus was on this earth

1. Satan fully understood the prophecy made against him in the
Garden of Eden

2. Satan believed that if he could get Jesus to sin, Jesus would
not be the unblemished lamb. Therefore, Jesus could not go to
the cross

unlike those who are confused about the mission of Jesus, Satan fully knew why Jesus had come to this earth

1. Satan’s mission was to stop Jesus from going to the cross

2. the figure of Satan in the movie

Jesus would ENTER JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY.
as it came time for Jesus to go to the cross, Jesus took a more “aggressive step” toward expressing His mission

1. the Jewish authorities already were plotting to kill Jesus, but
had no real reason to do so

2. Jesus found a small donkey to ride and rode the donkey into
Jerusalem to the accolades of the crowd, exclaiming – Luke
19:36-40 - As he went along, people spread their cloaks on
the road. When he came near the place where the road goes
down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began
joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they
had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the
Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of
the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your
disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the
stones will cry out."

it was time for Jesus to go to the cross

Jesus would CLEANSE THE TEMPLE.
once again Jesus would cause the religious leaders to respond

1. as they were the ones who oversaw the Temple sales

2. they had allowed the abuse of the Temple

Jesus would essentially rebuke the religious leaders and force their hands

Jesus would EAT THE PASSOVER MEAL.
here Jesus would CLEARLY explain to His disciples through the Passover that He would be the Passover lamb that had been celebrated for thousands of years

1. a typical Jewish Passover (a Seder meal)

a. the first cup – the cup of blessing

b. the second cup – the cup of plagues

c. the dinner would be eaten

d. the third cup – the cup of the Redeemer

e. the fourth cup – the cup of praise

2. the Passover of Jesus

a. Luke 22:17 – the first cup - After taking the cup, he
gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among
you.”

b. the Passover meal is eaten – Vs. 19 – the explanation of
the bread - And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it,
and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for
you; do this in remembrance of me."

c. Vs. 20 – the third cup - In the same way, after the
supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

d. JESUS WAS CLEARLY SAYING THAT HE WAS
THE MESSIAH AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO
GIVE HIS BODY AND BLOOD FOR THEM!

Jesus would SUBMIT TO THE CROSS.
there would be a struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane BECAUSE JESUS KNEW WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!

1. Jesus knew what “the cup” was

2. He knew that He was going to the cross

a. all of the history going all the way back to the fall of
man into sin in the Garden of Eden

b. all of the prophecies were to be fulfilled

c. JESUS KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WAS ABOUT TO
HAPPEN.

when Peter tried to stop the soldier from arresting Jesus, Jesus REBUKED Peter because JESUS WAS ON A MISSION! Look at what Jesus says when Peter attempts to stop the arrest: John 18:10-11 - Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"

III. The PURPOSE Of Jesus.

HIS HEAVENLY FATHER KNEW The Purpose Of Jesus.
At His BAPTISM – Matthew 3:16-17 - As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
At the MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION – Matthew 17:4-5 - Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
At the CROSS – Matthew 27:45-46 - From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
JESUS KNEW His Purpose.
In His youth at the Temple – Luke 2:49-50 - "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
In His ministry.
during His ministry

1. Matthew 12:39-40 - He answered, "A wicked and adulterous
generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of
Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth.”

2. John 10:14-15 - "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and
my sheep know me--just as the Father knows me and I know
the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

3. John 10:18 – “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of
my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and
authority to take it up again. This command I received from
my Father."

approaching the cross – four times He told His disciples of His coming death

1. Matthew 16:21 – “From that time on Jesus began to explain
to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers
of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day
be raised to life.”